Casting for Wonderstar Productions' latest film venture,
Adopt a Sailor, has been completed, with actors
Peter Coyote and Bebe Neuwirth playing a dysfunctional New York city couple who take in a sailor (Ethan Gregory Peck) during Fleet Week.
The film is based on the short play written by noted playwright, Charles Evered. The play was first presented at "Brave New World," a theatrical event that was organized by director Erica Gould in commemoration of the first year anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Although Evered was constantly encouraged to make the play longer, it wasn't until he met and spoke with writer and producer Andy Breckman that he decided to lengthen the piece. He made considerable revisions to the play, keeping in mind that the focus of the play needed to shift from the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to larger questions regarding the nature of service, how society views people in the military and how the country has been riddled with political and cultural conflicts. Now, it is being turned into a major motion picture.
Peter Coyote, who has appeared on the television series,
The 4400, told Evered while accepting the part that the film's script hit home.
"[Peter] said, it was the first time he'd laughed out loud while reading a script in a long time,” Kim Waltrip, co-owner of Wonderstar Productions, said of the actor's reaction to Evered's handiwork. “And [Peter] told Charles, 'I'm going to do everything in my power to make this work.'"
The 65-year-old actor has been in the entertainment industry since the early 1980s. His other notable acting credits include
Jagged Edge, Erin Brokovich, Femme Fatale and
A Walk to Remember. On the small screen, his most recent leading role is that of former NTAC director Dennis Ryland on
The 4400. He was a big part of the series during its first season, and guest-starred on the show's second season two-hour finale.
After appearing in
The 4400, Peter Coyote moved on to other television projects, including
Commander in Chief and
Brothers & Sisters.
Some segments for
Adopt a Sailor have already been filmed on board the USS Wasp and parts of New York City. The apartment scenes will be shot in August inside a Palm Desert home that is being made to look like the inside of a metropolitan apartment.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Adopt a Sailor website, The Desert Sun, IMDB
(Image Courtesy of MSN)